Various interactive music games are available where the game player, using an instrument-like play device, simulates playing a corresponding musical instrument to a game music track. For example, Guitar Hero®, GuitarFreaks® and Drummania® are music games that score the game player's ability to simulate the playing of a musical score or song using their instrument simulation device. The instrument simulation device is a game controller that simulates, for example, a guitar, a drum set, or any other musical instrument.
For example, in a guitar game, the game player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of a lead guitar, a bass guitar, or a rhythm guitar in a manner that “simulates” the playing of a particular musical score or song. The game player attempts to match a series of musical notes that are scrolled on-screen by selectively actuating fret buttons on the neck of their guitar-shaped controller while strumming a device in time to the musical score or song. The degree of correspondence between the depression of the fret buttons while strumming, and optionally other actions by the game player, with predefined criteria associated with the played musical score or song allows the game player to score game points. The interactive music games attempt to mimic features of playing a real guitar, including the use of fast-fingering hammer-ons and pull-offs and the use of the whammy bar to alter the pitch of notes being played during the musical score or song.
An exemplary interactive music game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,405 to Yoshitomi et al., entitled “Game System and Computer-Readable Recording Medium” and issued on Feb. 19, 2002. The Yoshitomi interactive music game uses performance data stipulating a series of manipulations of the input apparatus arranged in correspondence with a predetermined musical piece where the game player's performance is determined based upon a correspondence between the game player's operation of the guitar-shaped controller and the performance data.
Another exemplary interactive music game is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/311,707, published as US 2007/0163427, to Rigopulos et al., entitled “System and Method Generating Video Game Content” and filed on Dec. 19, 2005. The Rigopulos interactive music game system includes analyzing musical content to identify at least one musical event extant in the musical event; determining a salient musical property associated with the at least one identified event; and creating a video game event synchronized to the at least one identified musical event and reflective of the determined salient musical property associated with the at least one identified event. Audio events or transients from an audio signal containing music may be used to identify musical events and determine properties associated with those events. Accordingly, various characteristics of a selected musical score or song are analyzed to determine characteristics that are used to define the performance data which the game player must satisfy to score game points. Some interactive music games provide ways to modify the performance data.
In the various available interactive music games, the game player must first obtain a musical score or song, along with the predefined performance data, in order to play their interactive music game. Musical scores or songs, and their associated performance data, may be provided with the interactive music game software, may be separately acquired on a media such as a compact disk, or downloaded from a site accessible via the Internet. Typically, the game player must spend money to acquire the musical score or song, and its associated performance data.
Typically, a musical score or song may have been created using a variety of different musical instruments. For example, in addition to sounds from a guitar, a rock and roll score or song may have sounds generated by drums, a base guitar, a piano, a saxophone, etc. However, the game player may desire to play the game based upon a musical instrument that has not been included in the predefined performance data for that particular musical score or song.
Further, selection of musical scores or songs is limited to popular musical scores or songs that have been processed to prepare the associated predefined performance data. Thus, the game player may be interested in playing the interactive music game using a musical score or song that has not been processed to define the performance data. A favorite musical score or song of interest of the game player may be readily available on a record, on a compact disc, the radio, the Internet, or the like. However, if no performance data is available for that particular musical score or song of interest, the interactive music game cannot be played using that musical score or song.
In some instances, the interactive music game may be more fun and or challenging for the game player if the game player is familiar with the particular musical score or song that the game play is based upon. That is, it is likely to be little or no fun for the game player to try to simulate play of a musical score or song that they are unfamiliar with. And, playing the interactive music game for a first time can be very frustrating if the game player has no pre-knowledge of the played musical score or song, and/or if the game player dislikes the played musical score or song.
Accordingly, there is a need in the arts to provide performance data for musical scores or songs that the game player is familiar with and/or likes, particularly when a particular musical score or song that the game player wishes to play is readily available from a remote source.